Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com

Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com
[ Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com ]

Bad umpires

Posted by 90 and over on April 21, 2026, 8:39 am

Is it a requirement for these hs umpires to be 90 and blind? I’ve seen so many bad calls this year. (Both ways) Pitches are literally in the other batters box being called strikes. This has got to be the worst year by far.

Re: Bad umpires

Posted by Not Really on April 21, 2026, 8:29 pm, in reply to "Bad umpires "

Umpiring has been poor for a long time (trust me). These umpires want to make the game move (or maybe they have dinner plans) so they will call a strike on the pitch 8 inches outside or high. I have always believed the poor strike zone affected right-handed hitters more. The umps have always been poor at keeping lefties in-the-box.
If your team wins by a touchdown or loses by a touchdown the umps don’t matter. But in tight games the strike zone matters and many umpires fail.

Re: Bad umpires

Posted by Coach on April 23, 2026, 9:08 am, in reply to "Re: Bad umpires "

Just so you are aware, the out of the box rule is always mis-understood. NFHS and NCAA rules are 180 degrees of each other. Understand the rules before you go after the people enforcing them.

Re: Bad umpires

Posted by Not 180 on April 23, 2026, 10:50 am, in reply to "Re: Bad umpires "

How are they different?

Both require the batter to have both feet completely in the batter's box at contact. (They can have only one foot on the ground at the time of contact, but whether it's one or two feet on the ground, both have to be in the box - and the lines are considered IN the box.)

Both treat contact with the ball outside of the box as a dead ball, with the batter out and runners having to return to their bases.

There is a difference on the penalty in NCAA, where the defense has the option to take the result of the play or the penalty for illegal contact.

Maybe you can learn me more?

Re: Bad umpires

Posted by Coach on April 23, 2026, 4:15 pm, in reply to "Re: Bad umpires "

The (2026) NFHS Softball, Rule 7-4-8 dictates a batter is out when hitting the ball while either foot is completely outside the batter's box or touching the plate.

The rule make no distinction about anything to do with feet in the air, your wrong. Also, the ENTIRE foot has to be out of the box. By definition, if ANY part of the foot, even the smallest part of the heal is ON THE LINE, they are in the box.

NCAA (2026) 11.15.1 An illegally batted ball occurs when the batter contacts the pitch and: ANY part of their body is touching home plate OR the ground outside the lines of the batters box.

In summary, NFHS you are in the box if only PART of your foot is on the line. For NCAA, your ENTIRE foot has to be on the line.

Re: Bad umpires

Posted by Ump crisis on April 21, 2026, 10:01 am, in reply to "Bad umpires "

It's a supply and demand issue, and is not helped by the general belief that the working conditions have gotten worse (i.e., parents yelling at umps at 10U).

I've never seen a HS, rec or club advertise umpire training or recruitment - seems like a miss.

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